The Choice
by grka
Summary: A young man gets an answer to a wish, that he has since a long time! Is he going to say yes?


Hi Everybody,  
  
Because my Beta-Reader is hard-working, I can send you my next story! :-))   
Leigh, you are doing a really great job with correcting my stories and I want to Thank you for this.   
  
I hope you enjoy it!  
  
Hugs,  
Grit  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Tess, Monica or Andrew. they belongs to Martha Williamson  
  
  
The Choice   
  
Three angels stood at the corner of a house in the middle of a large hectic city.. It was winter and the first snow had fallen the night before. The oldest of the three angels, a woman with dark skin and long dark hair, pointed toward a young man.   
  
"That is Frank. His is 25 years old and he thinks his life is already at the end," Tess explained. "He has suffered depressions since he was little boy and his parents died in a plane crash."   
  
"Oh no, the poor boy. No wonder that he is depressed," said one of the other two angels. Her name was Monica. She seemed to be about mid-30's, had long dark hair and a sweet Irish accent.   
  
The third angel, Andrew the Angel of Death, was male and had long blond hair. He sighed, "I know him ... and I knew his parents."   
  
"You took his parent home?" Monica asked.   
  
"Yes, I did. I was with them for a few days before it happened and on the evening, before they left for the flight, Frank and his parents had a really big argument. He was five years old and wanted to come with them and, as they told him that this was impossible, he said that he hated them and that he wished they were dead. This was the last thing he had said to them before they died." Andrew sighed and looked sadly toward Frank, who walked along the sidewalk without taking a notice of anything around him. "After I took his parents, I want back to him. I hoped that I could help him, but the Father said that I had to wait. All I could do was to stand there and to try to talk to his spirit. Later, when he grew up in different foster homes, he often got close to death. He did everything to risk his life, but death never happened."   
  
"He must feel guilty," the young female angel assumed.   
  
"Yes, he does. To this day, all he wants is to die. Even though his mind tells him that he isn't guilty, his heart ... well ... it tells him something else," Tess said. "Frank will get a chance to change his whole life, soon. The Father will place him at a point of decision ... . the decision between a new life or death."   
  
Monica turned a shocked face towards Andrew as Tess mentioned the word death. And Andrew nodded to her unspoken question with a sad look.   
  
"He is going to die?!"   
  
"Well, baby, that's his decision. I don't know what's going to happen, but Andrew will be with him until he has made his choice. If he chooses death, then this assignment is over; but if he chooses life, then we have to help him to find the new life that God wants for him. It's going to be a hard and long way, but we will help him, if it's what he wants."   
  
At this moment, the angels heard a loud squeal of brakes and the cries of people who hurried to the crossing. Tess, Monica and Andrew walked over, too. As they arrived at the scene, they could see that it was Frank who lay under a car. The driver of the car was totally excited and said the whole time that he hadn't seen the man and so on. The angels stood unseen to human eyes in front of Frank. Andrew's glance shot at his two friends before he walked to Frank and knelt down.   
  
"Hello Frank, my name is Andrew. I'm an angel," said the blond man to Frank as he opened his eyes. He couldn't remember what happened at first, but his memories came back all at once. He remembered the squeal and that something hit him. Panic grew up inside of him, but then he saw the strange man ... he glowed somehow and he knew his name. He said he was an angel?! Frank was confused now.   
  
"Frank, I know that this all is a little bit much for you," Andrew said with a knowing look at the people around them. "We both will go to another place where we can talk. There are some things that you need to know," Andrew explained. "Please, close your eyes and listen to my voice. There is nothing you need to be afraid of," he added in a soothing voice.   
  
As the man touched Frank's shoulder, Frank could feel how he relaxed and his fear disappeared. When he opened his eyes, he could see that he was in the middle of a meadow. On one side was a wood and on the other side was a small river.   
  
"Where am I?" Frank asked with disbelief as he walked around. In one moment he had been in the middle of an accident and in the next ... he was in the middle of a wood.   
  
Andrew stood there without moving. He put his hands in the pockets of his beige suit and waited.   
  
Frank turned around. "WHO are you? And WHERE am I?"   
  
"Like I already told you, my name is Andrew and I'm an angel. I took you to this place, because we have something to discuss."   
  
"You are the Angel of Death?!" Frank asked and panic appeared in his eyes again.   
  
"Yes, I am," Andrew answered gently.   
  
"So am I dead?"   
  
The angel shook his head. "No ... not yet. You had a really bad accident and the doctors are working on you right now."   
  
"But ... but I'm here - wherever this is - how can this be possible?"   
  
"What you see here right now is the most important part of you. Your body is in a surgery right now," Andrew explained with a sad face.   
  
Frank sat down. This was too weird. His whole life, he wished he would die and now that it could happen ... it was so much more than he expected it to be. "So ... you said you had something to discuss. What is it?"   
  
Andrew walked toward the young man and sat down next to him. "Frank, I know what you've wished for your whole life."   
  
Frank looked in shock at the angel. He knew it?   
  
Andrew nodded to his unspoken question. "Yes, I know that you always wished to die." Andrew sighed as he remembered the uncounted close calls he had witnessed. "I was often sent to you, because you got closer to death than you should. You did everything that could kill you. At least until now. But this time, it wasn't you intention, was it?!"   
  
Frank looked at the ground. He couldn't meet the angel's gaze. "No, this time it was a coincidence."   
  
The Angel shook his head, "No! It wasn't a coincidence. This time, it was God's answer to your prayers." Andrew waited a moment to see Frank's reaction. All he could see was surprise and something he hoped he wouldn't see. He had often seen people who wanted to die, but the most of them changed their mind when it got to the point that it would really happen. But Frank wasn't one of them. Andrew couldn't see anything that told him that Frank wanted to live.   
  
"You mean that he is going to let me die finally?" Frank couldn't believe that he was finally getting his wish.   
  
"Not exactly." Andrew knew that he must not intervene. It was Frank's choice. He had free will and Andrew would have to accept his decision. "God is giving you a chance. He gives you the choice between life and death, today. He wants you to think about this carefully. If you want to live, you will have to fight for it. It's going to be a long way to get your life back, but He promise you that He will be with you the whole way and so will some of His angels. He wants to give you a new life, the life He always wanted for you. But if you still want to die, then I will be here for you to bring you to Him. He will welcome you with open arms and love. Frank, God loves you, but He needs to know your decision ... soon."   
  
***   
  
"Would he be angry with me, if I should choose to stay here," Frank asked carefully.   
  
Andrew shook his head, "No, He wouldn't be angry with you. He wouldn't be happy about it, because you didn't trust Him, but He loves you and He would welcome you." Andrew sighed, "Frank, I know that the only thing you want right now is to die and to stay here. It's something you wanted your whole life ... ever since your parents died. Right?"   
  
Frank looked shocked at the angel, "You ... you know about it?"   
  
Andrew nodded, "Yes. I know what happened the day your parents left you. You were angry at them because you wanted to go with them and they refused your wish. You told them that you hated them and that you wished they were dead." Andrew remembered with sadness. He had stood, unseen to human eyes, in the door and witnessed the fight. He heard the words of an angry and hurting little boy and knew that this was the last thing he had ever said to his parents.   
  
Tears flow down Frank's face. He tried his best to forget those memories, but now as Andrew talked about it ... it was like yesterday. He remembered the hurt look of his mother. "And He answered my request with a 'YES'! It didn't take 24 hours until they were dead! I killed them, I don't deserve to live!" he sobbed. "Why? Why did He answer with 'YES'???!!!"   
  
Andrew shook his head, Frank couldn't really believe what he said. Andrew knelt next to Frank. "Frank, this accident wasn't His answer to your wish. It was just an accident. It would still have happened if you hadn't said those words so long ago. Believe me! I know you've felt responsible your whole life for what happened, but you weren't. You never were! God knew how much you grieved and the only thing he wanted to do for you was to help you. But you didn't listen to Him. You thought that He would punish you and you didn't deserve a good and joyful life. You did everything to make sure that you wouldn't be happy. And one day ... you were so convinced of your guilt that you really believed it. Frank, if you still want to stay here, you will see your parents and they will tell you how much they love you and how sad they are that you had to go through so much pain. They know that you didn't mean what you told them then and God knows it, too. And somewhere ... deep inside you ... you know that it wasn't your fault ... that it was just an accident."   
  
Frank dried his eyes before he looked at Andrew. "Why should I want to go back? My parents are here and the only thing I want right now is to go to them and tell them how much I love them and how sorry I am for what I said. Andrew, there isn't one single reason why I should go back!"   
  
Andrew smiled as he saw that he had gotten through to Frank. "There are many reasons why you should go back! First, God loves you and He wants sooo much to give you the life He always wanted for you! And the second reason the people whose lives you have touched. Frank, you are a very caring, compassionate and friendly human being. Even though you had a lot of your own problems ... you always tried to help your friends and strangers. In those brief moments, you forgot your own problems. Whenever a friend of your's was in need, you were there for them. There were friends from the past, friends from your work and some friends on the Internet. Believe me, if you weren't there for them ... some of them would have met me so much earlier than they should. You didn't know it, but some of your words ... well it kept one or two from committing suicide and you even didn't know it. Without you, they wouldn't be on this earth anymore."   
  
"What? What are you talking about?"   
  
"Do you remember Jamie?" Andrew asked.   
  
Frank nodded slowly, "Yes, he was my best friend in high school. We didn't see each other often after we finished school because he moved far away."   
  
"I know, but you kept in touch through emails," Andrew said. "What you didn't know was that he was thinking about suicide."   
  
"What? Are you sure that you are talking about Jamie? I mean ..."   
  
"Yes, I'm sure. You didn't know it, because Jamie was very good at hiding his true feelings for others. In the last email he wrote to you, he told you that he had lost his job. Do you remember?"   
  
Frank nodded, "Yeah, he sounded really sad but ... I never thought he would think about killing himself."   
  
"He had an enormous debt. The things you wrote to him changed his mind. If you hadn't been there that evening and hadn't said what you did ... I would have had to take him home. Frank, if you would trust God ... if you would let Him use you ... you could do so much that matters. You could help others and, in this way, you could help yourself, too. All you need to do is to say 'Yes, I will live and I will trust You.' He promises you that it's worth."   
  
Andrew gave Frank few minutes to think about everything that he had just told him, as he listened to the voice of his Father. Than he turned back to Frank and stated with concern, "Frank? It's time for your choice. God needs an answer from you!" He couldn't do anything other than pray that Frank would make the right decision.   
  
***   
  
Frank stood up and walked around. This was the hardest choice he ever had to make. Now he stood so close to the only thing he had wished for himself his whole life and now ... God wanted him to live. He sighed finally, "I can only hope that I will never regret this choice, but who am I to decide against the wish of God."   
  
Andrew was relieved, but he had to make sure that Frank's decision was from free will and not because he wanted to please God. "You know that you don't have to choose this ...," he started carefully.   
  
Frank turned around. "Yes, I know. I can't explain it. I know that He wouldn't be angry with me if I decided to stay, but I also know that He wants me to live so that He can help me with my life."   
  
Andrew was happy about Frank's decision even though he knew that Frank had still a long, hard and painful way before him. He smiled at Frank as he put his hand on his shoulder and gave Frank to understand that they had to start back. "I'm proud of you and so is God! I promise you that He and His angels will help you to get your life back."   
  
***   
  
Monica stood at Frank's bedside and watched the young man. He had spent three days now in a coma due to his bad head injures. As she saw Andrew and Frank entering the room, she greeted both with a relieved smile.   
  
"I'm in a coma?!"   
  
"Yes, you are." Andrew could read his unasked question in his eyes and answered, "I don't know how long you will be in this condition, but you will have to fight to come back to us."   
  
"Can I hear you ... when I lay there?"   
  
Andrew smiled, "Yes, you will. You will be able to hear our voices and you won't be alone."   
  
"Alright, then ... lets get us this behind me, before I change my mind."   
  
The angel nodded and put his hand on the young man's shoulder, "Close your eyes and don't be afraid."   
  
***   
  
The next four weeks went by without any changes. Andrew and Monica stayed entire days and nights at Frank's bedside. They talked with him and told him about God's love and that he shouldn't give up. Tess, in the meantime, searched for Frank's friend, Jamie.   
  
In the fifth week, Frank woke up. He slowly opened his eyes and tried to focus, but it was to hard; the light hurt his eyes. After a few moments, he could see Andrew and Monica who had both big smiles on their faces.   
  
"Welcome back!" Monica said.   
  
Frank tried to answer, but he couldn't. Somehow he didn't manage to get the words out of his mouth. He looked with panic at the two angels.   
  
Andrew knelt down, "It's okay. Your head injures were really bad and there are some things you need to learn again." With a sad look he added, "And talking is one of them. But don't worry, God will help you through this."   
  
At this moment, the door opened and Tess walked inside. She had a young man with short brown hair at her side."It's great to see that you finally woke up, baby!" she said with big smile from ear to ear. "You're just in time, to meet someone," she added with a meaningful look at the young man.   
  
"J .... J ... a ....m ..." Frank tried his best.   
  
"Yes, it's me. Jamie!" the man answered and walked toward his friend. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you how I got here. Do you believe in angels?"   
  
Frank looked with a smile at Andrew and nodded carefully. Jamie understood what his friend tried to tell him and he asked Andrew "Are you one, too?"   
  
"Yes, and so is Monica," Andrew replied gently.   
  
***   
  
The next months were hard for Frank. He had to learn again how to speak, how to walk, how to use his hands and how to write and read. Jamie was a therapist. He had changed his job after he forgot about killing himself. He had started a new life and was glad that he could help his friend now. The three angels stayed the whole time with the two friends and, after almost a year, Frank could leave the clinic on his own two feet.   
  
"You all can't imagine HOW MUCH I thank you and God! I promise you that I will use my new life and I won't blow it again. I swear to you!"   
  
With this a white dove flew from the branch of a nearby tree.   
  
The End   
  
  



End file.
